Open at your own risk

Open at your own risk

We see Martha putting on her work apron. She gets in her car that barely even starts anymore. She waves goodbye to her daughter Amanda who is watching her leave from the window. Martha gets to work and she sits in her car thinking about her life before going in.

She clocks in and starts to serve customers. Some of them are regulars and some of them are new. Martha hears the phone ring and answers expecting it to be a customer. When she answers it she is told that her mother has passed away. She tells her manager and she gives her the day off. Martha rushes out of the diner into her car.

Martha arrives at her mother’s house and is greeted by an ambulance and paramedics. Her mother passed away due to a heart attack. The neighbor was worried and called 911. Martha is told to collect her mother’s things from the house as her mother was renting it.

Martha starts cleaning and comes across the closet that she was never allowed to open. She was always curious about what was in there. She opens the closet and there is only one black book. She has never seen it before. She opens it and sees it’s full of money. She turns around to see if anyone else was there but she is alone.She takes the money out and closes it but decides to open it again and again it is full. Martha can’t believe it. She takes the book and the money to the car then she finishes cleaning out the house.

She gets in the car and counts the money 20,000 $ more money then has ever had. She drives home and unpacks everything including the book, She puts the money in her purse and then goes to pick up Amanda from school. Amanda usually takes the bus so when Martha picked her up she knew something was wrong.

“ Is everything alright mommy ?” - Amanda

“ Your grandma died today.” ( as she holds back tears) - Martha

Amanda gets a sad look on her face and she doesn’t say anything else except for “i’m sorry mommy.” Marta takes Amanda to her favorite restaurant and tells her that she can order whatever she wants, even dessert. The next day Martha takes Amanda to school.

“No work today mommy ?” - Amanda

“No not today baby.” - Martha

Martha goes to the diner and she tells her boss that she needs some time off work to take care of the funeral and deal with her mother’s death. She goes to the funeral home to arrange the funeral. She meets up with her boyfriend John who goes with her to the car dealership so he can drive her old car after Martha gets her new car.

She takes John home and then she drives to her friend Julia’s house. When she gets there she is met by Julia’s girlfriend who tells her that Julia is sick. She is so sick that she can’t even get out of bed.

“Will you tell her that i stopped by ?” - Martha

“Sure thing Martha .“ - Kate

Martha goes home and gets money out of the book and then goes to pick Amanda up from school in the new car.

“This is a nice car. Is it yours mommy ?“ - Amanda

“It sure is baby .“ - Martha

Martha and Amanda go on a shopping spree. They get new shoes, clothes and Amanda even got a few new toys.

“I love you mommy.“ - Amanda

“I love you too baby.“ - Martha

Martha drops Amanda off at her friend's house for a sleepover and then goes home and gets ready for her date with John. Martha puts on a new dress and shoes that she bought and puts on some makeup. Martha hears the doorbell and she decides to grab the book and put it in her purse so she can show John. They get in John's car and head to the restaurant.

“I have to tell you something.” - Martha

“Okay babe go ahead.” - John

“I found this book in my mom’s stuff and it’s full of money and every time you open it there’s more in there.” - Martha

“So what it’s like magic ?” - John

“I’m not sure how to explain it here, see for yourself.” - Martha

Martha takes the book out of her purse and hands it John. He opens the book and there was money in it just like she said. He takes the money and closes the book then he opens it again and it’s full. John can’t believe what he saw.

“How did you do that” - John

“I didn’t it was the book” Marta

John and Martha enjoy dinner and drinks then go dancing after.

The next morning Martha hears her phone ringing and it says Julia. She answers it and says “hey Julia are you feeling better.” It was actually Kate she tells Martha that Julia had gotten worse and ended up going to the hospital. Martha gets up and throws clothes on to go see her. She calls Amanda’s friends parents and tells them what is going. Martha gets to the hospital and is met by Kate. She tells Martha that they don’t know what is wrong with Julia and they are running tests. She asks if she can see her.

“Hey Julia how are you doing ?” - Martha

“I’ve been better.” - Julia

“I came as soon as I heard.” - Martha

“Thank you. I'm sorry about your mom. I know you guys were close.” - Julia

“Thank you the services are tomorrow.” - Martha

Martha goes to pick up Amanda from her friend’s house. She asks her if she wants to go see and Amanda gets excited. Martha hears Amanda cough.

“Feeling sick baby ?” - Martha

“Just a little bit.” - Amanda

Martha doesn’t think anything of it. They go and enjoy the movie and they get a bunch of snacks. They finish the movie and head home.

“Thank you mommy.” - Amanda

“You’re welcome baby.” - Martha

Martha wakes up and gets her and Amanda ready for the funeral. Amanda had gotten worse and Martha tells her that she will go to the doctor after. Martha is at the funeral and she notices an older lady that she had never seen before. After the funeral the older lady walks up to Martha and introduces herself.

“Are you Maggie's daughter ?” - Rose

“Yes I am , I'm Martha. Have we met before ?” - Martha

“Oh no I’m Rose, I’m an old friend of your mothers. We were best friends for 15 years.” - Rose

“So how come i never met you or heard of you ?” - Martha

“Me and your mother had a falling out. It was really silly, it was over a book.” - Rose

“Are you talking about the black book with the money ?” - Martha

“Oh dear you opened it this is not good. That book was made with evil intentions. You enjoy the money but it comes at a higher price. That book was in my family for years. Every time you open it a loved one gets ill and they get worse each time the book is opened.” - Rose

“My best friend is in the hospital and my daughter is starting to get sick.” How do i fix this before it is too late for them ?” - Martha

“The only way to fix it is to return all the things that you have bought with the money that can still be returned. If you have any money that you have not spent, burn it. Never open the book again, hide it, get rid of it whatever you have to do to save them.” - Rose

Martha does exactly what Rose says and burns everything including the book. She sells the car. Julia and Amanda both recovered to full health. Martha went back to working at the dinner.